Objectives: We sought to determine the effect of COVID-19 related reduction in elective cardiac procedures and acute coronary syndrome presentations on interventional cardiology (IC) training.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted healthcare in the United States, including cardiovascular services. The impact of COVID-19 on IC fellow training in the United States has not been assessed.
Methods: The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) surveyed IC fellows training in both accredited and advanced non-accredited programs, as well as their program directors (PD).
Results: Responses were received from 135 IC fellows and 152 PD. All respondents noted reductions in procedural volumes beginning in March 2020. At that time, only 43% of IC fellows had performed >250 PCI. If restrictions were lifted by May 15, 2020 78% of IC fellows believed they would perform >250 PCI, but fell to only 70% if restrictions persisted until the end of the academic year. 49% of IC fellows felt that their procedural competency was impaired by COVID-19, while 97% of PD believed that IC fellows would be procedurally competent at the end of their training. Most IC fellows (65%) noted increased stress at work and at home, and many felt that job searches and/or existing offers were adversely affected by the pandemic.
Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected IC training in the United States, with many fellows at risk of not satisfying current program procedural requirements. These observations support a move to review current IC program requirements and develop mitigation strategies to supplement gaps in education related to reduced procedural volume.
Keywords: competency; coronavirus; interventional cardiology; medical education; procedure volume; training.
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